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Retirement-plan providers, along with a few financial-planning services, are adding new online tools to help people saving for retirement better manage the more than $5.1 trillion in defined-contribution assets, and to help plan participants get their nest eggs ready to generate income when they finally quit working.

In some cases, the tools are even prodding workers to increase the portion of each paycheck that they save, diversify their investments, scrutinize fees or consider future health costs.

"We want to make it easier for employees to take action, so that when the day comes, they are better prepared," says Edmund Murphy III, head of the defined-contribution business at Putnam Investments, a Boston-based asset manager.

Of course, different 401(k) providers offer different tools, and generally those tools are available only to account holders. But when one provider comes up with a new feature, others typically follow suit.

What follows is a look at some interesting recent offerings, all of which are free.

Quick Help Analyzing Fees

Personal Capital Corp., a San Francisco financial-advice startup, came out with a 401k Fee Analyzer last year that tells people whether their 401(k) fees are in its "green" zone, meaning less than 1% a year; "yellow," from 1% to 1.99%; or "red," meaning 2% or more.

ENLARGE

The tool also shows how many years of retirement the saver will lose to fees, as well as the portion of earnings lost to fees—along with the dollar amount—at retirement.

Plans administered by more than 90% of 401(k) providers are available in the tool. To use it, create a free Personal Capital account, specify your plan administrator and provide your 401(k) plan ID and password.

The tool then shows the investments in the account and the impact of the fees across your career. The user can adjust a number of variables, including current age, contribution amount, growth and age at retirement.

Sizing Up the Gap

Great-West Financial in Greenwood Village, Colo., part of Winnipeg-based Great-West Lifeco Inc., gives savers a way to see how much money they are likely to get each month in retirement from their 401(k). Great-West bases its figures on real-time account data and information about assets outside the retirement plan.

ENLARGE

The tool compares the estimated retirement income with a saver's target and suggests ways of closing any gap, including changing asset allocation, increasing contributions or working longer.

And the control panel offers a strategy for drawing down their savings, taking all sources of retirement income into account, says Charles Nelson, president of Great-West Retirement Services.

Since the tool was added in December, 22% of Great-West's 238,000 online-account users have taken a look, and 13.5% of those users changed their contributions within 10 days of doing so, Mr. Nelson says.

Predicting Future Medical Costs

Putnam's Health Cost Estimator estimates how much of an account holder's future monthly income could wind up covering retirement medical costs. It breaks out insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, including copayments and drug costs. The tool also includes ways to help close possible savings gaps, such as increasing contributions, postponing retirement or changing the investment mix.

ENLARGE

Putnam, a unit of Great-West Lifeco Inc., gets its numbers from individuals' data, including pre-existing health conditions, gender and the state where they plan to retire, as well as cost models based on actuarial data. The tool assumes the account holder wouldn't have retiree medical benefits.

Of the 2,000 investors who had access to the tool in its first 60 days, 40% looked at their portfolios. Of those, 30% increased their pay deferrals, to an average of 11% from 8%.

One missing piece of information: an estimate of potential long-term-care costs.

Seeing the Forest, Not the Trees

Jemstep Inc., an online investment adviser in Los Altos, Calif., recently tweaked the 401(k) feature in its Portfolio Manager tool to make it easier for investors to see a complete view of their savings in one place.

ENLARGE

The firm recommends how to invest 401(k) savings based on the individual's entire portfolio. "At the end of the day, you want all your money working in concert," says Simon Roy, Jemstep's president.

This tool is free for signing up with Jemstep; additional paid services are offered.

The firm has a database of investment options available in the retirement plans at a number of big employers, including Google Inc. and Apple Inc. Investors who don't see their 401(k)s listed can email Jemstep with a list of what's available to get recommendations.

More than 10,000 investors are using the service, and nearly one in five has bought or sold an investment based on Jemstep recommendations, the firm says.

Ms. Greene is a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New York. Email her at kelly.greene@wsj.com.

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